mule#1
Well-known member
Who uses 34's in their MK V? and what do you think you think is different? I'd like to try it out. I have always liked 6L6's in my Mesas. I tried them in my MK IV once but always went back to 6L6 or 5881's.
Jedro said:I use 34s, actually E34Ls, which are a slight variation made by JJ. I switched from 6L6s years ago, basically doing a total flip flop from what I had been using all around, gear-wise.
While it isn't night and day, it is noticeable. 6l6s get a more rounded top end and a tighter low end, you'll notice this when playing leads or on clean tones. Think of Eric Johnson's clean tone, to me that is quintessential 6l6 clean tone. And any chicken pickin country. More sustain, too.
EL34s are more midrangey; they get a low-mid growl. Very british. Judas Priest, Def Leppard High n Dry, AC/DC. Single notes may seem thin up high, clean tones arent as full. However, on the MK5, channel 1 still gets great clean tones with EL34s.
Like I said, it isn't night and day. It's just part of the chain. I went from playing hot rodded strats with high output pickups, 6l6 tubes and EV speakers to playing Les Pauls and Teles with lower output pickups, EL34 tubes, and Greenback style speakers. I did this all at once!
tonedragon said:Ok right now Im close to having chn 3 sound like my soldano but there's still something missing. To my understanding the slo and its variants( HR50) in my case are based on the Mark2. I cannot find the tight sounding lower mids that make the soldano smooth sounding. Will the el34's get me closer???? Both amps run 6l6is so im stumped. I can get every other tone from the Mkv. :?
Enter your email address to join: